The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Sterling Jewelers agrees to $11 million settlement for signing consumers up for store credit cards without their consent

Photo credit: M.O. Stevens

Sterling Jewelers Inc. has agreed to pay $11 million after investigations by the New York Attorney General’s Office and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Sterling signed consumers up for store credit cards without the consumers’ knowledge or consent. Sterling also enrolled consumers in a credit insurance product without consumers’ knowledge or consent and misrepresented the terms of the store cards. Under to the settlement, Sterling will pay $11 million in penalties.

“By tricking consumers into enrolling in store credits cards, Sterling Jewelers betrayed customers’ trust and violated the law,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “This settlement holds the company accountable for its misconduct and ensures that no more consumers are deceived.”

Sterling, doing business as Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, and other brands, is based in Ohio and operates about 1,500 jewelry stores throughout the United States.

Fiat Chrysler agrees to pay $800 million to settle charges of emissions cheating

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Robert Bosch agreed Thursday to settle charges related to “defeat device” software intended to circumvent emissions standards for air pollutants. Bosch, a parts supplier, supplied and programed the software used by Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen in diesel vehicles.

The two agreements, to be filed later this month, will provide compensation for consumers who purchased or leased Fiat Chrysler vehicles containing illegal defeat devices and more than $172.5 million to 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Fiat Chrysler and Bosch attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of American consumers, and pollute their way to the bank, said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump’s government shutdown is disrupting agencies that protect consumers, workers, health, and safety

Consumer, worker, health, and safety protection agencies throughout the federal government are being disrupted by federal worker furloughs coming from the partial government shutdown, according to a report Public Citizen released Wednesday.

“As long as the shutdown continues, essential consumer, worker, health and safety protections carried out by these agencies are on hold,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “Corporate lawbreakers are going unpunished, safety inspections are being postponed, discrimination charges are going uninvestigated, polluters are not being held in check, financial fraudsters are not being policed, consumer complaints are not being received and accident investigations have ceased.”

Many agencies are falling behind, and it could take many weeks for them to catch up, according to furloughed workers quoted in the report. More than 75 percent of workers have been furloughed at seven agencies dedicated to protecting consumers and workers, according to federal agency memos, and nearly 50,000 employees have been sent home without pay at the following agencies:

Loan servicer settles charges it deceived student borrowers about lower-cost payment plans and loan forgiveness

Federal student loan servicer ACS Education Services agreed to a $9 million settlement Friday for steering distressed borrowers away from income-based repayment plans towards other, more expensive options. It also addresses claims that ACS deceived borrowers about the availability of loan forgiveness after a borrower works for 10 years in a public-service job. 

In addition to paying penalties and restitution to borrowers, ACS has agreed not to service loans for the major federal programs or private loans for five years. Most eligible borrowers will receive between $100 and $450. 

“Students rely on college to be a ladder to success, but too often prohibitive costs and disingenuous loan servicers trap students in a quicksand of debt,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “ACS has systematically failed borrowers by refusing to educate them on more effective federal repayment options, and instead, pushing them towards options that padded their bottom line.”

For-profit college to pay more than $493 million in debt relief to students due to fraudulent practices

Forty-eight attorneys general announced an agreement Thursday with for-profit education company Career Education Corp. to reform its recruiting and enrollment practices and offer debt relief of about $493.7 million to 179,529 students nationally.

CEC currently offers mostly online courses through American InterContinental University and Colorado Technical University. CEC has closed or phased out many of its schools over the past 10 years. They include Briarcliffe College, Brooks Institute, Brown College, Harrington College of Design, International Academy of Design & Technology, Le Cordon Bleu, Missouri College, and Sanford-Brown. 

The agreement resolves a five-year investigation into allegations that CEC made misleading statements or failed to disclose information to prospective students on total costs, transferability of credits, program offerings, job placement rates, and other topics.

Wells Fargo to pay $575 million in settlement with 50 states for consumer fraud

Photo: Laimerpramer

Wells Fargo agreed to a $575 million settlement Friday with fifty states and Washington, D.C.,  due to of the bank’s illegal sales practices. Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest bank, has acknowledged opening millions of deposit, credit card, and other accounts and conducting transfers of funds without customer authorization during various periods from 2002 through 2017.

“Wells Fargo customers entrusted their bank with their livelihood, their dreams, and their savings for the future,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “Instead of safeguarding its customers, Wells Fargo exploited them, signing them up for products – from bank accounts to insurance – that they never wanted. This is an incredible breach of trust that threatens not only the customers who depended on Wells Fargo, but confidence in our banking system. As our investigation found, Wells Fargo’s conduct was unlawful and disgraceful.”

California will receive $148.7 million, the largest payment under the settlement.

How to return holiday gifts

About a third of American consumers returned holiday gifts last year. Hopefully, you kept your receipts and aren’t on a long vacation so you can take care of your returns efficiently and promptly.

The Better Business Bureau offers these tips for your holiday returns:

The seller’s return policy. If you don’t recall what the seller’s return policy is, check its website or the back of the receipt. If you have questions, call the store to ask about what you want to return. Retail stores may have different return policies than the company’s online website.

Identity protection tips for the holidays

With high profile data breaches at Marriott and Quora and a new government report about Equifax’s breach, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund is offering tips for consumers to protect themselves as they use their credit and debit cards to travel and buy gifts this holiday season.

“Breached companies from Equifax to Marriott have failed to clearly explain the risks posed by their breaches and the steps consumers can take to protect themselves,” said Mike Litt, consumer campaign director for the fund, a group that helps consumers. “Depending on what information thieves steal in a data breach, consumers could be victims of many different types of identity theft and fraud.”

The U.S. PIRG Education Fund recommends that consumers take the following steps, whether their information was stolen in high profile breaches or not:

State attorneys general hold UBS accountable for manipulation of benchmark interest rates with $68 million fine

Photo: Urbanrenewal

UBS AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, agreed Friday to a $68 million, 40-state settlement for fraudulent conduct involving the manipulation of LIBOR or the London Interbank Offered Rate. LIBOR is a benchmark interest rate that affects financial instruments – such as stocks, bonds, and loans – worth trillions of dollars and has an impact on global markets and consumers.

“Manipulative or fraudulent conduct that undermines the integrity of our financial markets will not be tolerated,” said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood.

The attorneys general allege that UBS misrepresented the integrity of the LIBOR benchmark by hiding, misrepresenting, and failing to disclose that UBS made US Dollar LIBOR submissions to avoid negative publicity and protect the reputation of the bank. They also allege that UBS made Japanese Yen LIBOR submissions to benefit its derivative trading positions.

Trump Foundation to dissolve under court supervision amid charges Trump used its funds illegally for his political, business interests

The Trump Foundation has agreed Tuesday to dissolve under judicial supervision, with review and approval by the New York Attorney General’s Office of proposed charities to receive the foundation’s remaining assets. 

This agreement follows the court decision last month allowing a lawsuit by the New York agency against the Trump Foundation to go forward. 

In addition to the dissolution of the foundation, the lawsuit also seeks millions in restitution and penalties and to bar President Trump and his three oldest children from serving on the boards of other New York charities.